Protective athletic glove

ABSTRACT

A protective glove and a method for manufacturing the same are provided. The glove includes a hand receiving portion that includes a metacarpal portion and a wrist portion. The hand receiving portion includes a dorsal side and a palm side. The glove further includes a plurality of protective elements attached to the dorsal side of the hand receiving portion. The plurality of protective elements including a first protective element that overlaps a second protective element. The first protective element includes a distal end that is attached to the dorsal side of the hand receiving portion and a proximal end that extends freely over the second protective element.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This document claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/272,435, entitled “Protective Athletic Glove,” filed Sep. 24, 2009, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND

A protective athletic glove and method for manufacturing the same are provided. More particularly, a protective athletic glove that includes overlapping protective elements that increase flexibility and movement for the wearer is provided.

Protective athletic gloves are known for use in contact sports such as lacrosse, and hockey. The gloves are designed to protect a wearer of the gloves from injury due to equipment impact (e.g., lacrosse sticks, hockey sticks, balls, pucks, skates, etc.), impacts between participants (e.g., stick checks, body checks, etc.), impacts with the playing surface (falls, dives, knock-downs, etc.), or impacts from objects on and around the playing surface (e.g., lacrosse goals, hockey goals, boards, etc.). Also, the gloves can offer protection against blistering and abrasions to a wearer's hands.

However, conventional protective athletic gloves are fairly rigid in design sacrificing flexibility for protective function. FIGS. 3 and 4 illustrate problems associated with protection elements used in conventional protective athletic gloves. Typically, to create a glove with padding sewn to it for either lacrosse or hockey, a manufacturing process starts within an internal fabric pattern that looks like a giant hand. Protective elements are then sewn to the internal lining. As illustrated in FIG. 3 a, conventional protective elements such as protective element 20 illustrated in FIG. 3 a include a stitch line 21 that extends all the way around the protective element and secures the protective element to an inner layer material. In order to promote flexibility, multiple protective elements 20 are secured to a lining 30, as illustrated in FIG. 3 b. However, as illustrated in FIG. 3 c, when such a protective athletic glove undergoes deformation due to normal use by a wearer, adjacent blocks 20 tend to come into contact and arrest further motion as illustrated at element 60 in FIG. 3 c.

In conventional gloves, the wrist area is one major flex point on the hand that is restricted by such a construction. As illustrated in FIG. 4, conventional glove construction includes attaching a cuff piece 50, designed to protect the lower arm, to the body of a glove that includes padded fingers, a padded metacarpal portion (back of the hand), a padded wrist portion and a palmar portion. Due to the need for flexion at the wrist, conventional gloves tend to leave a larger gap between the cuff piece 50 and the adjacent protective element 20 on the wrist portion of the glove body. This space is then covered with a wrist guard 40.

However, the wrist guard 40 hinders the flexion and extension of conventional gloves as well as the radial and ulnar deviation. Along with the wrist guard 40, conventional glove construction of the body of the glove creates non-moving flat spots because the protective elements 20 are sewn down on all sides of an individual block to an internal lining material, as illustrated in FIG. 3 a. As noted above, FIG. 3 c illustrates that this sewing and construction create pinch and stopping points 60 in the protective elements 20. As illustrated in FIG. 4, known designs create multiple stop locations 60 that prevent further dorsiflexion.

Conventionally, the only way to alleviate these stopping points was to create further gaps in the protective elements or use multiple protective elements. Although using more protective elements can make a glove more flexible, such a construction increases the cost of the glove due to the increased amount of stitching and construction that is required. Moreover, even with additional protective elements and gaps between them to allow for flexibility, there is a limitation to how far adjacent protective elements can move relative to each other and still maintain adequate protection of a player.

As such, there is a need in the art for a protective function while improving the ability of the wearer to flex the hands and wrists in a natural manner.

SUMMARY OF EXEMPLARY ASPECTS OF THE ADVANCEMENTS

In one aspect, a protective glove includes a hand receiving portion that includes a metacarpal portion and a wrist portion. The hand receiving portion includes a dorsal side and a palm side. The glove further includes a plurality of protective elements attached to the dorsal side of the hand receiving portion. The plurality of protective elements include a first protective element that overlaps a second protective element. The first protective element includes a distal end that is attached to the dorsal side of the hand receiving portion and a proximal end that extends freely over the second protective element.

In a further aspect, a protective glove includes a hand receiving portion that includes a plurality of finger portions, a thumb portion, a metacarpal portion and a wrist portion. The hand receiving portion includes a dorsal side and a palm side. The dorsal side of the hand receiving portion includes an inner liner that partially defines an interior space of the hand receiving portion. The glove further includes a plurality of protective elements attached to an exterior surface of the inner liner. The plurality of protective elements include a first protective element that is positioned distally with respect to a second protective element of the plurality of protective elements. The first protective element extends from a distal end on a distal side of the first protective element to a free end on a proximal side of the first protective element. The distal end is secured to the inner liner, the free end is not secured to the inner liner and the first and second protective elements are positioned such that the free end of the first protective element is proximal of a distal end of the second protective element and the first protective element extends over a portion of the second protective element. The glove further includes a lower forearm portion attached to the hand receiving portion.

In still a further aspect, a method for manufacturing a protective glove includes providing a hand receiving portion including a plurality of finger portions, a thumb portion, a metacarpal portion and a wrist portion. The hand receiving portion includes a dorsal side and a palm side. The dorsal side of the hand receiving portion includes a liner. A lower forearm portion is attached to a proximal end of the wrist portion of the hand receiving portion. A plurality of protective elements are attached to an exterior surface of the liner after attaching the lower forearm portion to the proximal end of the wrist portion.

It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description of the invention and the following detailed description are exemplary, but are not restrictive, of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

A more complete appreciation of the invention and many of the attendant advantages thereof will be readily obtained as the same becomes better understood by reference to the following detailed description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 a illustrates a range of flexion and extension of a human hand;

FIG. 1 b illustrates a human hand in dorsiflexion;

FIG. 1 c illustrates a human hand in palmar flexion;

FIG. 2 a illustrates a range of deviation of a human hand;

FIG. 2 b illustrates a human hand with a thumb in a neutral position;

FIG. 2 c illustrates a human hand with a thumb in an abduction position;

FIG. 2 d illustrates a human hand with a thumb in an opposition position;

FIG. 2 e illustrates a range of motion of a human finger;

FIG. 3 a illustrates a conventional padding element;

FIG. 3 b illustrates two conventional padding elements;

FIG. 3 c illustrates the conventional padding elements of FIG. 3 b undergoing flexion;

FIG. 4 illustrates conventional padding configurations;

FIG. 5 a illustrate an exemplary protective padding element according to the present invention;

FIG. 5 b illustrates two exemplary protective padding element according to the present invention;

FIG. 5 c illustrates the exemplary protective padding elements of FIG. 5 b undergoing flexion;

FIG. 6 illustrates protective padding according to one exemplary aspect of the present invention;

FIG. 7 a illustrates a protective athletic glove in accordance with one exemplary aspect of the present invention;

FIG. 7 b illustrates a cross-sectional view along line A-A from FIG. 7 a;

FIG. 8 a illustrates a protective glove in accordance with an exemplary aspect of the present invention;

FIG. 8 b illustrates a cross-sectional view from along line B-B in FIG. 8 a;

FIG. 8 c illustrates a cross-sectional view taken along line C-C in FIG. 8 a;

FIG. 8 d illustrates a cross-sectional view of a finger portion of a protective glove in accordance with an exemplary aspect of the present invention;

FIG. 9 a illustrates a protective glove in accordance with an exemplary aspect of the present invention;

FIG. 9 b illustrates a cross-sectional view taken along line D-D of FIG. 9 a;

FIG. 9 c illustrates a cross-sectional view taken along line E-E in FIG. 9 a;

FIG. 9 d illustrates an exemplary cross-section of an impact gel piece;

FIG. 10 a is a first perspective view of a protective athletic glove in accordance with an exemplary aspect of the present invention;

FIG. 10 b is a second perspective view of a protective athletic glove in accordance with an exemplary aspect of the present invention;

FIG. 10 c is a third perspective view of a protective athletic glove in accordance with an exemplary aspect of the present invention;

FIG. 11 a illustrates a partial cut-away view of a protective element;

FIG. 11 b illustrates a partial cut-away view of another protective element;

FIG. 12 illustrates a back view of an exemplary protective athletic glove;

FIG. 13 illustrates a front view of an exemplary protective athletic glove;

FIG. 14 illustrates a top right elevation view of an exemplary of a protective athletic glove;

FIG. 15 illustrates a top view of an exemplary protective athletic glove;

FIG. 16 illustrates a bottom view of an exemplary protective athletic glove;

FIG. 17 illustrates a side view of an exemplary protective athletic glove;

FIG. 18 illustrates a top left elevation view of an exemplary protective athletic glove;

FIG. 19 illustrates a bottom left elevation view of an exemplary protective athletic glove;

FIG. 20 a illustrates a first stage of a method for manufacturing a protective athletic glove in accordance with one exemplary aspect of the present invention;

FIG. 20 b illustrates a second stage of a method for manufacturing a protective athletic glove in accordance with one exemplary aspect of the present invention;

FIG. 20 c illustrates a third stage of a method for manufacturing a protective athletic glove in accordance with one exemplary aspect of the present invention; and

FIG. 20 d illustrates a fourth stage of a method for manufacturing a protective athletic glove in accordance with one exemplary aspect of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Certain terminology used in the following description is for convenience only and is not limiting. The phrase “most proximal end” is generally used to describe where an appendage (such as the hand) joins the body, and the phrase “most distal end” is used for the point furthest from the point of attachment to the body. Connecting the most proximal end and the most distal end define a proximo-distal axis. The terms “proximal” and “distal” are also used herein as relative terms to indicate where structures lie along the proximo-distal axis for a given structure.

Gloves are designed to provide substantial protection to the participant's fingers, hands, wrists, and lower forearms while maintaining as much flexibility within the glove as possible. Flexibility is desired by the wearer so as to impart freedom of movement to the fingers, hand, wrists and lower forearms needed to properly participate in a sport while protection is required to reduce injury to the same.

For example, as best illustrated in FIGS. 1 a to 1 c, under ideal conditions, a participant's hand 10 will be able to undergo at least 65 degrees of dorsiflexion and at least 70 degrees of palmar flexion. Likewise, as illustrated in FIG. 2 a, a user's hand would ideally be able to travel through at least 15 degrees of radial deviation and at least 30 degrees of ulnar deviation. As illustrated in FIGS. 2 b to 2 d, a participant's thumb will be able to travel through at least 40 degrees from an abduction position to an opposition position. Likewise, FIG. 2 e illustrates an ideal range of motion for a participant's finger 12.

Thus, lacrosse players and hockey players typically need to be able to flex in all directions freely in order to grip equipment and engage in necessary wrist action while still maintaining an acceptable level of protection. However, as discussed above, conventional glove design limits the amount of dorsiflexion that is available to a player when they are manipulating a stick in either lacrosse or hockey. Notably, conventional hockey gloves have limited flexion and extension as well as difficult radial and ulnar deviation, and typical lacrosse gloves include significant limitations on dorsiflexion.

The solutions presented herein can be incorporated into a protective athletic glove for use while playing hockey, for use while playing lacrosse, or for use while engaging in any other sport that requires the player to be able to flex in all directions freely in order to grip equipment and engage in necessary wrist action.

FIGS. 5 a to 5 c illustrate exemplary protective elements in accordance with one exemplary aspect of the present invention. In particular, the protective element 120 is fastened to an inner liner, but is not secured on all sides to allow for movement and flexibility. As best illustrated in FIG. 5 b, multiple protection elements 120 are fastened to a liner 30 along a single edge 121. Adjacent elements 120 are then positioned so as to overlap such that a free edge of a first element 120 extends over a second element 120. As can be seen in FIG. 5 b, this construction provides excellent protection to a player as there is no exposed gap between adjacent elements. In addition, as illustrated in FIG. 5 c, during movement of the protective glove, adjacent protective elements can slide over each other allowing more flexion and extension.

For example, as illustrated in FIG. 6, a conventional design incorporating a wrist guard is replaced with a new design that incorporates protective elements 20, protective elements 120, and a floating cuff 150. As can be seen in FIG. 6, the elements 120 are able to slide over each other at points 160, allowing for a greater degree of dorsiflexion when compared with the conventional case illustrated in FIG. 4.

I. Glove Construction

The construction of an exemplary protective athletic glove in accordance with the above-noted features will now be described with reference to FIGS. 7-10 and 12-19.

Turning first to FIG. 7 a, a protective athletic glove 200 includes a hand receiving portion 202 and a lower forearm portion 204. The lower forearm portion 204 includes a cuff 250 constructed of three separate elements 251, 252, and 253. The hand receiving portion 202 includes a finger receiving portion 210, a thumb portion 215, a wrist portion 240, and a metacarpal portion that is illustrated in the sections identified as 220, 225 and 230 in FIG. 7 a.

The finger portion includes protective padding elements 211, 212, 213, 214 and 219 (illustrated in FIG. 10 c). Metacarpal portion 220 includes protective elements 221, 222, and 223. Metacarpal portion 230 includes elements 231 (illustrated in FIGS. 10 c), 232, 233, 234 and 235. The design of the metacarpal portion 230 aids in the flexibility of the glove. As shown in FIG. 7 a, a proximal end of the metacarpal portion 230 forms an arc with respect to the proximo-distal axis. The concave side of the arc faces the proximal end of the glove and the convex side of the arc faces the distal end of the glove. The shape of the proximal end of the metacarpal portion 230 aids in the telescoping effect of the protective layers by accommodating the forearm during dorsiflexion.

FIG. 7 b illustrates a cross-sectional view of the protective athletic glove 200 taken along line A-A in FIG. 7 a. As can be seen in this cross-section view, protective element 213 in finger portion 210 is constructed of multiple elements that will be discussed in greater detail below. Protective element 222 from metacarpal portion 220 is a layered structure that includes a foam layer 222 a, a foam layer 222 b and a polyethylene board 222 c. Protective element 222 is secured around an entire periphery thereof to a liner 270 of the glove. As can be seen in section A-A, the liner 270 is arranged opposite to a palmar side 260 of the glove 200. Protective element 233 includes foam element 233 a and 233 b. Unlike protective element 222, protective element 233 is not secured on all of its sides, but instead is only secured on a distal end thereof and at least partially extends over a portion of the wrist portion 240.

Wrist portion 240 includes foam portions 240 a, 240 b and 240 c. As with protective element 233, the protective element 240 is only attached on a distal end thereof, and a proximal end of the protective element 240 overlaps the lower forearm portion 252. The lower forearm portion 252 includes foam elements 252 a, 252 b and 252 c. The lower forearm portion is attached to the liner 270 via a piece of material 272, which may be, for example, stretch gore material. Although the elements described above are described as foam pieces, other materials are possible, as will be readily understood by one of skill in the art. In addition, although several of the protective elements illustrated in the figures and described above are described as layered structures, it is also possible to form padding from single blocks of foam, gels, air, honeycomb structure and other materials that will be recognized by one of skill in the art.

FIGS. 8 a to 8 d illustrate several aspects of the finger portion 210 of the protective athletic glove 200 in greater detail. In particular, FIG. 8 b illustrates a cross-sectional view of protective element 213 taken along line B-B in FIG. 8 a. As can be seen in FIG. 8 b, protective element 213 includes three individual blocks 213 b that are covered by a harder durometer foam 213 a. Three pieces of nylon board 213 c are then layered on top of the foam portion 213 a to match the length of the portions 213 b. As can be seen in FIG. 8 a, protective element 214 includes side elements 214 a and 214 b. As illustrated in FIG. 8 c, a cross-sectional view taken along lines C-C of FIG. 8 a, the element 214 a is a harder durometer foam layer that extends over a softer durometer foam layer 214 d. A nylon board 214 c is then positioned over the layer 214 a. FIG. 8 d illustrates a cross-sectional view of the other finger portions, in this case finger portion 212. The finger portion 212 includes soft durometer foam portion 212 b, a hard durometer foam layer 212 a and a nylon board piece 212 c.

FIG. 9 a illustrates portions of the wrist portion 240 and the metacarpal portion 225 in greater detail. In particular, FIG. 9 b illustrates a cross-sectional view taken along line D-D of the wrist portion 240 c. The wrist protection element 240 includes as layer of medium durometer foam 240 a, and layer of soft durometer foam 240 b, and a layer of harder durometer foam 240 c. As can be seen in FIG. 9 b, a center portion of the wrist portion does not include the harder durometer foam 240 c.

As best illustrated in FIG. 10 b, metacarpal portion 225 includes protective elements 226, 227, 228 and 229. FIG. 9 c illustrates a cross-sectional view of a portion of the metacarpal portion 225 taken along line E-E in FIG. 9 a. In particular, as can be seen in FIGS. 9 c and 9 d, protective element 228 is a molded piece of impact gel that is surrounded by protection element 226 b. In particular, protection element 226 includes a softer durometer foam 226 b and a harder durometer foam 226 a. Both the protective elements 226 and 228 are secured around their entire periphery to the liner 270.

FIGS. 10 a to 10 c provide further views of the protective athletic glove 200. As discussed above, each of the protective elements described herein can be made of a variety of structures. For example, each of the portions of the lower forearm portion and the wrist portion can be made up of a foam structure that includes a 3.00 mm T5 foam top layer and two layers of 3.0 mm T20 foam. In another aspect, for example, the metacarpal protection piece 219 b illustrated in FIG. 10 c can include a single layer of 10 mm of T20 foam. Protective elements 226 and 227 can be made up of 3 mm T5 foam as a top layer, a 7 mm T20 foam bottom layer and include a gel impact portion inlaid therein. As an example, the remaining pads can be made up of 3 mm T5 foam for a top layer and 7 mm T20 foam for a bottom layer.

The protective elements can be made up of various materials, including foams, gels, airbags or plastics. For example, turning to FIG. 11 a, a protective element 20 may include a foam core 22 encased in a covering material 24. Other designs are also possible, as illustrated in FIG. 11 b. In FIG. 11 b, the protective element 20 includes three different layers of padding, in which two of the layers 22 a are made of a first material and a third layer 22 b is made of a second material. The covering material can be but is not limited to polyurethane (PU), leather, synthetic woven and knit materials, nylon, lycra, mesh, twills, or other materials that would be recognized by one of skill in the art.

Turning now to FIGS. 12 to 19, a second exemplary aspect of the present invention will be described. The protective glove illustrated in FIGS. 12 to 20 includes a finger portion 310 in which each respective finger includes multiple protective elements. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 12, a first finger includes protective elements 311 a and 311 b, a second finger includes protective elements 312 a, 312 b and 312 c, a third finger includes protective elements 313 a, 313 b and 313 c, and a fourth finger includes protective elements 314 a, 314 b and 314 c. In addition, as illustrated in FIG. 13, the finger portion 310 also includes a protective element 319 a. A thumb portion 315 includes, as illustrated in FIG. 17, protective elements 318 a, 318 b, 317 a, 317 b, 316 a, and 316 b. The metacarpal portion 320 includes protective elements 319 b, 321, 322 and 323. As illustrated in FIG. 17, the metacarpal portion includes protective elements 326, 327 and 328.

In the present example, each of the protective elements in the finger portion 310, the thumb portion 315, the metacarpal portion 320 and the metacarpal portion 325 are secured to a lining of the protective glove 300 around an entire periphery of each respective element. By contrast, each of the elements in the metacarpal portion 330, the wrist portion 340 and the lower forearm protection portion 350 are only secured to an underlying layer of the protective glove 300 at a distal end of each respective element, and are free of attachment to a dorsal side of the protective glove on a proximal end of each protective element. In this configuration, each of the protective elements 331, 332, 333, 334, and 335 of the metacarpal portion 330 overlaps the wrist portion 340. Likewise, the wrist portion 340 overlaps the lower forearm protection portions 351, 352 and 353. In operation, this allows greater dorsiflexion and results in a configuration in which the wrist portion 340 is able to telescope into the metacarpal portion 330, and the cuff portion 350 is able to telescope into the wrist portion 340.

In addition, for greater flexibility, the wrist protection element 340 includes cut portions 340 a and 340 b that extend in a proximo-distal direction from a proximal end of the wrist protection element 340. Likewise, as illustrated in FIG. 17, metacarpal protective element 335 also includes a cut portion 335 a. These cut portions enable greater flexibility without sacrificing protection due to the overlapping nature of the present design.

The design of the metacarpal portion 330 also aids in the flexibility of the glove. Specifically, as shown in FIGS. 12 and 17, a proximal end of each of the protective elements 331, 332, 334 and 335 is inclined relative to the proximo-distal axis of the glove such that the overall shape of the proximal end of the metacarpal portion 330 forms an arc. The concave side of the arc faces the proximal end of the glove and the convex side of the arc faces the distal end of the glove. The shape of the proximal end of the metacarpal portion 330 aids in the telescoping effect of the protective layers by accommodating the forearm during dorsiflexion.

II. Method of Manufacture

FIGS. 20 a to 20 c illustrate a method of manufacturing a protective glove 200 in accordance with one exemplary aspect of the present invention. In conventional glove design, padding is overlain on a glove body and a cuff is later attached to the glove body. Due to the overlapping nature of the present construction, a new method was devised. In particular, a glove body is provided that already includes protection elements affixed to a finger portion 210, thumb portion 215 and a metacarpal portion 225. A cuff 250 is attached to this glove body. As illustrated in FIG. 20 b, the wrist protection element is next attached to the glove body such that a distal edge of the wrist protection element 240 is attached to the glove body and a proximal end of the wrist protection element 240 extends freely over the cuff 250 so as to overlap the cuff 250.

Next, as illustrated in FIG. 20 c, the metacarpal portion 230 is secured to the glove body such that a distal end of the metacarpal portion 230 is secured to the glove body and the proximal end of the metacarpal portion 230 extends freely over the wrist portion 240. Thereafter, FIG. 20 d illustrates that the protective elements that comprise the metacarpal portion 220 are affixed to the glove body.

Obviously, numerous modifications and variations of the present invention are possible in light of the above teachings. It is therefore to be understood that within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described herein. 

1. A protective glove comprising: a hand receiving portion including a metacarpal portion and a wrist portion, the hand receiving portion including a dorsal side and a palm side; and a plurality of protective elements attached to the dorsal side of the hand receiving portion, the plurality of protective elements including a first protective element that overlaps a second protective element, the first protective element including a distal end that is attached to the dorsal side of the hand receiving portion and a proximal end that extends freely over the second protective element.
 2. The protective glove of claim 1, wherein the second protective element includes a distal end that is secured to the dorsal side of the hand receiving portion at a position distal of the proximal end of the first protective element, and a proximal end that extends free from attachment to the hand receiving portion.
 3. The protective glove of claim 2, wherein at least one of the first protective element and the second protective element includes at least one cut portion that extends from the proximal end thereof along a proximo-distal axis of the protective glove.
 4. The protective glove of claim 2, further comprising a lower forearm portion attached to the hand receiving portion, wherein the second protective element and the lower forearm portion are positioned such that the free end of the second protective element is proximal of a distal end of the lower forearm portion and the second protective element extends over a portion of the lower forearm portion.
 5. The protective glove of claim 1, wherein the plurality of protective elements includes a third protective element that is positioned distally with respect to the first protective element and that is secured to the dorsal side of the hand receiving portion around an entire periphery of the third protective element.
 6. The protective glove of claim 1, wherein the first protective element is positioned on the metacarpal portion of the hand receiving portion, and the second protective element is positioned on the wrist portion of the hand receiving portion.
 7. The protective glove of claim 1, wherein a proximal end of the first protective element forms an arc with respect to a proximo-distal axis of the protective glove.
 8. The protective glove of claim 1, wherein the hand receiving portion includes a plurality of finger portions and a thumb portion.
 9. A protective glove comprising: a hand receiving portion including a plurality of finger portions, a thumb portion, a metacarpal portion and a wrist portion, the hand receiving portion including a dorsal side and a palm side, the dorsal side of the hand receiving portion including an inner liner that partially defines an interior space of the hand receiving portion; a plurality of protective elements attached to an exterior surface of the inner liner, the plurality of protective elements including a first protective element that is positioned distally with respect to a second protective element of the plurality of protective elements, the first protective element extending from a distal end on a distal side of the first protective element to a free end on a proximal side of the first protective element, wherein the distal end is secured to the inner liner, the free end is not secured to the inner liner and the first and second protective elements are positioned such that the free end of the first protective element is proximal of a distal end of the second protective element and the first protective element extends over a portion of the second protective element; and a lower forearm portion attached to the hand receiving portion.
 10. The protective glove of claim 9, wherein the distal end of the second protective element is secured to the inner liner, and the second protective element extends from the distal end of the second protective element to a free end on a proximal side of the second protective element that is not secured to the inner liner.
 11. The protective glove of claim 10, wherein at least one of the first protective element and the second protective element includes at least one cut portion that extends from the free end thereof along a proximo-distal axis of the protective glove.
 12. The protective glove of claim 10, wherein the second protective element and the lower forearm portion are positioned such that the free end of the second protective element is proximal of a distal end of the lower forearm portion and the second protective element extends over a portion of the lower forearm portion.
 13. The protective glove of claim 9, wherein the plurality of protective elements includes a third protective element that is positioned distally with respect to the first protective element and that is secured to the inner liner around an entire periphery of the third protective element.
 14. The protective glove of claim 9, wherein the first protective element is positioned on the metacarpal portion of the hand receiving portion, and the second protective element is positioned on the wrist portion of the hand receiving portion.
 15. The protective glove of claim 9, wherein a proximal end of the first protective element forms an arc with respect to a proximo-distal axis of the protective glove.
 16. The protective glove of claim 9, wherein the plurality of protective elements includes at least one gel impact piece.
 17. A method for manufacturing a protective glove, comprising: providing a hand receiving portion including a plurality of finger portions, a thumb portion, a metacarpal portion and a wrist portion, the hand receiving portion including a dorsal side and a palm side, the dorsal side of the hand receiving portion including a liner; attaching a lower forearm portion to a proximal end of the wrist portion of the hand receiving portion; attaching a plurality of protective elements to an exterior surface of the liner after attaching the lower forearm portion to the proximal end of the wrist portion.
 18. The method for manufacturing the protective glove of claim 17, wherein the attaching the plurality of protective elements includes attaching a first protective element and a second protective element to the liner such that the first protective element overlaps the second protective element.
 19. The method for manufacturing the protective glove of claim 18, wherein attaching the plurality of protective elements includes attaching a distal end of the second protective element to the liner such that a proximal end of the second protective element extends freely over the lower forearm portion.
 20. The method for manufacturing the protective glove of claim 19, wherein attaching the plurality of protective elements includes attaching a distal end of the first protective element to the liner after attaching the second protective element to the liner such that a proximal end of the first protective element extends freely over the second protective element. 